Archive for June, 2016

I always wonder about these two images of Vincent Chin. The left picture is a nerdy looking Vincent. The right picture is a cool Vincent. My guess is the picture on the left is his high school graduation portrait. The right picture is a snapshot before his engagement. But he seems younger in that image…

It has been thirty four years since Vincent Chin was brutally murdered in the streets of Detroit.

The reason for his death was because he was blamed for taking jobs away from white Americans in the auto industry.

In the late 1800’s the Chinese were used as the scapegoat for taking away jobs from white people in America. The hysteria was whipped up by politicians, newspapers, labor unions, etc. The results were anti-Chinese riots. Many Chinese were murdered. Chinese homes and businesses were destroyed and burned. Chinese were rounded up and dispelled from towns and cities. Law were passed specifically for the Chinese. Ultimately leading up to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Fast forward…the US auto industry failed to stay competitive against the Japanese auto makers. Many Americans lose their jobs amidst US auto plant closures. Instead of finding ways to stay competitive, they whipped up hatred. To them all Asians look alike. Thus you have the murder of Vincent Chin.

With China’s rise as a strong economy, there is much anxiety in the US. There’s a lot of blame on China for the problems of the US. Chinese Americans can be once again targeted.

There is much talk of war with China. Many provocative moves by the US to start a war. When war does break out….

Chinese labor was imported to South America to mine the guano (dried bird shit) as fertilizer. The guano islands where birds left deep layers of guano were extracted by indentured Chinese laborers whom were treated like slaves. There was no escaping the guano islands since they were surrounded by water and the only way was by ship. The mining kicked up a toxic dust which killed many Chinese laborers. They ate and slept on the guano. Few survived the ordeal. What a shitty job.